Six Months
by Brentinator
Summary: Six months. Peter and Michelle had been married for 6 months. So Peter shouldn't have been surprised when MJ all but slammed three small, white test sticks on the bed next to him. For the Spideychelle Secret Santa on Ao3!


Six months.

Peter and Michelle had been married for 6 months. And even if she didn't like the stigma and society norms attached to marriage, MJ loved being married.

Now known as Jones-Parker, she liked waking up next to who she believed to be the one. The one who MJ wanted to spend every moment with forever.

And Peter loved it too. He was scared at first, with how much MJ intimidated him while they were dating, but she almost seemed to loosen up while keeping every shred of her personality.

So six months into marriage, Peter shouldn't have been surprised when MJ all but slammed three small, white test sticks on the bed next to him.

"What's this about?" Peter asked, putting down the book he was reading before flipping the sticks over. He looked up at his wife, unable to read her face as he felt his body go into shock. "I-I-I...I don't know what to say. You're preg-"

"I'm terrified." MJ said, sitting down on the bed while running a hand through her messy hair. "Completely and utterly terrified."

"I don't wanna say that you shouldn't be shocked, because we haven't exactly been safe-" MJ's glare was enough to make him switch gears. "Maybe you bought 3 faulty ones?"

"Well, there's only one thing to do, I guess." MJ groaned, as she went through her contacts quickly before showing the number to Peter, revealing that she was calling her OBGYN. "Let's hope it's 3 faulty tests."

•••

Pregnant.

MJ was almost 13 weeks pregnant, and it left her in a shocked, almost numb state. MJ's biggest fear was turning into her mother, and being a mother very well could set off a similar set of events that would lead her to leave Peter and the baby.

Peter, however, was so excited. Scared, but ready to dive in head first into parenthood. That being said, he knew exactly what was eating at MJ, and he knew why she wanted to deal with her own demons before bringing a baby into their marriage.

That's why the drive home was silent. The books on pregnancy and parenthood that MJ's OBGYN recommended to them sitting on the dashboard, staring her right in the face. Making the situation even more real.

As soon as the two of them got into their apartment, MJ broke down in Peter's arms. Clutching to him like he was her life source.

"I'm so scared. I can't do this." She sobbed against his shoulder. Even though his warm embrace was what got them into this mess in the first place, she welcomed the comfort it brought. "What are we gonna do?"

"We'll figure it out." Peter soothed, running his fingers through her hair. "We'll be able to do this."

•••

MJ accepted her pregnancy slowly. While it was relatively smooth physically, hence why she didn't find out till she was entering her second trimester, it was mentally terrifying. She didn't want to be her mom, but she didn't want to lose the baby as the same time.

Everything seemed to feel like it was gonna be alright as the weeks passed. Peter's constant morning and night reassurances. Her stupid pregnancy app telling her how big the baby was by comparison to fruits and vegetables.

Which, by the way, it was as big as a avocado. That earned several laughs from the couple cause they didn't know what size avocado.

By Christmas, she had fully accepted the pregnancy, and was now beginning to get excited. She and Peter had already surprised her dad, who was ecstatic about having his first grandchild. After the initial announcement, he made sure to reassure MJ that once again, she was not her mother.

Peter's Aunt May had also received the news well, and she was excited to get her first great niece or nephew, even offering some onesies that she had been gifted while taking care of baby Peter.

Even Tony Stark's wife and CEO of Stark Industries had offered to help them with any financial needs they had, and offered them old things from when Morgan was a baby.

Now the pair only had one more person to tell, and that was Tony Stark himself.

••••••••

The plan was simple. The Starks had the tradition of opening one present on Christmas Eve, and Pepper was gonna make sure that Tony opened the present containing the positive test, the sonogram picture, and a pink and blue bootie each on the inside.

So after a long afternoon of Morgan, Peter and Tony playing, and MJ and Pepper speaking in hushed voices about baby names, the five of them had plates with their dinner on it in the living room while Pepper was kneeling beside the tree, pulling out a present for each member.

"Alright, Morgan." Pepper said, handing her a smallish wrapped present. "That's from your dad and I."

The 8 year old eagerly tore into the paper, squealing in delight about the book in her hands, titled The Mysterious Benedict Society, a book she had read in school the month before and was obsessed with.

Pepper proceeded to hand out the gifts to Peter and MJ, who received a pair of corny pajamas and a book on the biggest things the government has ever covered up, respectively.

Tony handed Pepper a wrapped box, revealing a identical copy to the coffee mug that had been broken from Tony dropping it while doing dishes, and that's when Pepper handed the small box to Tony.

"This is from Peter and MJ."

MJ gently squeezed Peter's hand under the throw blanket the two were sharing as Tony unwrapped the gift and lifted the box cover.

The room got eerily silent for a few moments, before Peter finally decided to speak up as he and MJ stood up."It's not a prank." MJ even reiterated the truth by pulling her shirt from the back, revealing the small baby bump.

Tony stood up from his armchair and hugged the both of them before asking. "When are you due?"

"May 29th." MJ smiled widely, seeing a few tears in his eyes as he hugged the couple again. "I'm so happy for you two. Congratulations."

"You guys are having a baby?!" Morgan exclaimed, getting up from the floor, coming over to examine MJ. "Is this a prank?"

"Not a prank, kiddo." Peter insisted, letting out a laugh at the 8 year old's shock. "Hope you like the title Aunt Morgan."

"This is amazing!" Morgan shouted with a wide grin on her face, starting to spin around the room, only stopping when Tony told her to put her book in her room and get ready for bed.

Once she had disappeared up the stairs, Tony proceeded to ask as MJ and Peter sat back down. "How long have you two known? Do you plan on finding out the gender before the baby gets here?"

"We've known for around a month. As for the gender situation, we haven't decided yet." MJ supplied, finally allowing herself to hold a hand over her growing bump, letting the other slip into Peter's hand.

"Well, whatever you choose, I just know you two are gonna be great parents." Tony assured. "I mean, Pepper and I are clearly superior, but silver's just as good." That comment received a gentle shove from Pepper.

"Okay, boomer." Peter joked, and MJ nearly burst out laughing when the terror in Peter's eyes grew and he was being chased by Tony, leaving Pepper and MJ alone in the living room, hearing the shrieks and yells from their husbands.

"I think I understand." MJ sighed, and when Pepper asked her what she meant, she elaborated. "I think I understand why my mother left me. I don't agree with it, I'm not gonna do it, but I think I understand why. She was so stressed out, and the only support she had was from my dad. And then when they started fighting, it probably made her feel like her support was gone."

"You know, acceptance is the final stage of grief. It doesn't mean you're okay with what happened, but you understand why it happened. And I think that's what's going on here. I'm proud of you for it." Pepper smiled, standing up and giving MJ a hug. "And even if your mom wasn't supported with you, we support you and your baby, and we always will."

MJ wrapped her arms around Pepper, allowing herself to be assured and letting herself relax. "Thank you, for everything."

"You're welcome, Michelle."

The two women broke off their hug after a few more moments, and watched the snow fall from outside, completely letting the glow from the moon drown out the yells from their husbands.

And in that moment, MJ knew that she was gonna be alright.


End file.
